Volunteers clean Jersey Shore beaches ahead of summer season
Volunteers collected trash ranging from small plastics to larger items and filled buckets and trash bags as they walked the beach.
Volunteers came out to beaches up and down the Jersey Shore on Saturday to clean up litter and prepare for the influx of visitors this upcoming summer.
A clear, sunny and a bit windy morning set the stage in Asbury Park for around 250 volunteers who participated in the bi-annual "Beach Sweep." Clean Ocean Action organized the effort that spanned more than 80 beaches across the state.
Volunteers collected trash ranging from small plastics to larger items and filled buckets and trash bags as they walked the beach.
“Life moves pretty fast. So when you stop on a nice Saturday morning and try to pick up some trash, you know, it’s nice to give back to the community. This is where we spend our lives all season, down here at the Shore. So it’s nice to make sure that the people that are parking with us are coming to a clean beach in their community,” said Anthony Cassese, a volunteer with Laz Parking.
The beach sweeps, which have been held for decades, are not just about cleaning up. Volunteers also document each item they collect to contribue to a growing database used to track pollution trends.
Organizers say the data collected during the sweeps plays a critical role in environmental protection efforts.
“The most important thing about picking up garbage, other than cleaning the beach, is they catalog what they’re picking up. They have sheets and they write down what they picked up, which turns into data. And that data tells us how much garbage is on the beach,” said Joseph Martin, the "beach captain" for the Asbury Park event.
The information is later used to identify pollution sources and develop strategies to keep beaches cleaner and protect marine life.
